Unfortuntately, registration for the 2020 Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown has now closed.

The first event in the 2020 series will be the Virtual TMC Meet Me Downtown Night Run. We have shipped the blue GabeZ shirts and the black TMC Meet Me Downtown shirts directly to those who registered BEFORE April 25. All others can pick up their materials on race weekend. Details on race weekend are here.

The three-race series commemorates Gabe Zimmerman, a Tucson native who lost his life in the January 2011 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords here in Tucson. As we all know, running shows us the power within ourselves. If we can go three miles in a hot summer night or slog our way up and down the hills of the Tucson mountains, the ups and downs of daily life are certainly manageable and we can rise to our other challenges.

Special thanks to the thanks to the 5,500+ registrations that have been part of the Triple Crown these past few years!!

Our goal is to celebrate Gabe and motivate the community to aspire to individual and collective greatness – to work alone and work with others towards those goals we find valuable. To celebrate living, community, and good will. To live with love, to live with passion, to chase dreams . . . .

2019 Commermative Items

Registration and giveaways from these three events:

Saturday night, June 6th: TMC Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run/Walk, Tucson's largest running event. You can run or walk Tucson's most popular 3.1 mile event. The TMC 5k Night Run is part of SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix.

Sunday morning, September 20th: TMC Tucson 10k. You can run the 10k or you can walk or run the 5k at Tucson's newest premier running event.

Sunday morning, October 19th (date TBD): TMC Get Moving Tucson Half-Marathon Events. You can walk or run the Tucson Lifestyle 5k, or you can run or walk the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon. The TMC Half-Marathon is part of SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix.

PLUS:

All registrants will receive the Gabe Z souvenir shirt designed in partnership with Leslie Jordan Designs

The three commemorative medallions designed with Ashworth Awards, including the TMC Night Run special medal reserved exclusively for the Triple Crown registrants

The souvenir race shirt from each of the three events

The happiness of knowing that a portion of your entry fees will go to the BEYOND Foundation, plus each of the the other race beneficiaries: The Children's Museum, Educational Enrichment Foundation, Greater Tucson Leadership, Team Hoyt Arizona, Cox Charities, Southern Arizona Roadrunners, and others.

Thank you: We lean heavily on Sharon Bart, the owner of The Running Shop, and Lucas, Geoff and the whole gang down there. Not only do they provide gift certificates as part of age-group awards, but they've become the brick-and-mortar home for our shirts and medals. Please shop local!

PAST AWARDS

Inaugural Personalized Sandstone Candle Holder

2015 Three-Piece Medallion

2016 Cactus Medal

2017 Tryptich with photo from GOATOGRAPHER

2018 Three Coaster Medals

2019 Commermative Items

ABOUT GABE

A Tucson native, Gabe Zimmerman lost his life in the January 2011 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords here in Tucson. Others murdered include Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy "Dot" Morris, Judge John Roll, Phyllis Scheck, and Dorwin Stoddard. Gabe was murdered doing what he was best at: supporting his community, trying to make it a better place for everyone, regardless of their politics or their backgrounds. From the Gabe Zimmerman Davison Canyon Trailhead to the Gabe Zimmerman Meeting Room at the U.S. Capital, Gabe’s presence will forever be a part of our community. We are grateful to Ross Zimmerman and Julia Strange at Tucson Medical Center for developing the concept of the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown – and we’re thankful to the Arizona Daily Star and Caliente for helping implement it. Gabe’s whole family has been devoted to fitness, running, and the Arizona outdoors – thus, we are honored to be able to celebrate the spirit of Gabe and highlight the possibilities for Tucson through the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown.

Each year from 2011-2016, $10 from each Triple Crown entry was donated to Gabe’s favorite non-profit, Child and Family Resources. Additional Tucson-based organizations also received a portion of the proceeds from the individual events. All total, over $100,000 has been donated due to your efforts.

SInce 2017, the Triple Crown has donated $10 from each entry to the BEYOND Foundation, offering a unique Rx health formula emphasizing four key pillars that supports optimum physical and mental health:

EXPLORE: Getting outdoors and spending time in nature;
MOVE: Engaging in regular physical activity;
NOURISH: Eating healthy foods; and
CONNECT: Connecting with one another as a community.

These four key pillars support the basis of BEYOND’s mission. Along with its partners, BEYOND provides year-round opportunities for the public to participate in a series of healthy activities and to learn more about the scientific research that shows why these four pillars are critical for optimal physical and mental health.

WORDS FROM ROSS ZIMMERMAN

When Randy Accetta of SAR and Julia Strange of TMC approached us with the idea of the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown, we were touched and appreciative. This is the sixth year, time for some reflection. Like Beyond, I’d like to see the GZ Triple take on a life of it’s own, not just exist as an echo of loss.

I’m sure there are various reasons why people sign up for the GZ Triple. Some of us knew and loved Gabe. Many perhaps because it’s a good deal for three excellent races, the party-run Downtown 5K, the iconic Saguaro Loop 8 miler, and the heart-of-the-Old-Pueblo Get Moving Half Marathon. The longer runs have 5K options to help more of us participate, not just the lean and hungry front runners. Regardless of your motivation, it’s a good focus and supports the good works of the prevention oriented Child and Family Resources social service agency.
I hope the GZ Triple Crown continues indefinitely. I hope you’ll take a few minutes, whether you knew Gabe or not, to reflect on the loved ones around you. Some still present, some only living on in memories. You’re lucky to be here in an extraordinary place, moving forward together. Thank you for coming out.
Ross Z

On the 2011 Triple Crown: I hope everyone enjoyed the GMT Half Marathon and 5K on Sunday Oct. 9th. Kelly O’Brien, Gabe Zimmerman’s fiancee, and I ran the half marathon together. We liked the course a lot and decided Gabe would have liked it, too. The course passed several places that held memories of Gabe for both of us. That added to the day. Our family and friends had very good experiences as well. The run and the day were a fitting celebration of the life of Gabe Zimmerman and the others dear to us we’ve lost this year. This was a proactive, positive way to promote personal and societal physical and mental health. Gabe the social worker would have enthusiastically approved. Randy Accetta, Julia Strange, and the myriad of folks who helped make this event and the previous two events in the Gabe Z Triple Crown successes have my appreciation and thanks. We hope this series will continue.

One of the things I’ve learned since Gabe’s passing is how many other people I know and have met who have been touched by the loss of loved ones before their times. Unfortunately, far too many suffer or perish due to the diseases of overweight, inactivity, and substance abuse, not violence or accident. There are some things we can do to reduce the risks of violence or accident. Much more can be accomplished, by taking care of your loved ones and yourself with a positive, active, healthy life. That gives you and them better lives and better relationships. On our way home, Kelly reminded me of a bike ride she, Gabe, and I did together. Up a steep hill, he raced me to the point of stomach upset (and beyond…), all in good fun. Gabe and I had many, many active adventures together. I will treasure those until the end of my life, and that’s a comfort. Go have adventures with your loved ones as well.

On the 2012 Triple Crown

Gabriel Zimmerman was the Outreach Director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Gabe lost his life rushing to help during the horrible shooting of January 8th. Both Gabe and Gabrielle have been strong supporters of health and physical fitness in our great state. We invite you to celebrate Gabe’s love of running and fitness. This is the Gabe Z Triple Crown’s second year. It was a great success in 2011, and we want to continue that.

Running was in Gabe’s blood. His mother, Emily Nottingham, was a founding member of the Tucson Sun Chaser’s women’s running club and is currently President of the Arizona Trail Association.

Gabe’s stepmother, Pam Golden, has held the Master’s women’s course record for the Saguaro National Park 8-mile loop, one of the runs in the Triple Crown. And I am a passionate trail runner and ultramarathoner who has co-administered the Tucson Trail Run Series for 17 years.

But Gabe’s love of running didn’t stop with us: his fiancée, Kelly O’Brien, is a marathon runner who paced Gabe in his first marathon, the 2010 San Diego Rock and Roll. Gabe was also devoted to overall health and fitness: Gabe’s UHS/Rincon High School soccer teams won two state titles, Gabe twice ran the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim, he completed the El Tour de Tucson, and has ridden with me and his brother, Ben, the famous Slick Rock Bike Trail and many other routes in Moab and Tucson.

Gabe lived for several years in downtown Tucson. He ran the streets. He ran A-Mountain and Tumamoc Hill. The downtown 5K and Half Marathon will retrace his steps. His mother, stepmother, and I have all competed in Saguaro Loop. Our family and Kelly will be running or walking in his honor in this year’s Triple Crown.

Involved in many social service organizations, Gabriel was on the board of Child and Family Resources, a Tucson-based non-profit that provides strategic help to parents, children, and families all across Arizona. A portion of your entry fee goes to support CFR.
We invite you to donate in his memory as well.

Date and Time

Saturday night, June 6: TMC Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run/Walk, Tucson's largest running event. You can run or walk Tucson's most popular 3.1 mile event. The TMC 5k Night Run is part of SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix. Please note that the Festival of Miles now counts as part of the Triple Crown.

Sunday morning, September 20: TMC Tucson 10k. You can run the 10k or you can walk or run the 5k at Tucson's newest premier running event.

Sunday morning, October 19 (tBD): TMC Get Moving Tucson Half-Marathon Events. You can walk or run the Tucson Lifestyle 5k, or you can run or walk the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon. The TMC Half-Marathon is part of SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix.

About the Triple Crown: The Gabe ZImmerman Triple Crown is a Run Tucson series produced by Randy Accetta and Tia Accetta with the three events calendared on the Southern Arizona Roadrunners annual schedule of races. Randy and Tia are grateful to Tucson Medical Center, the Arizona Daily Star and Caliente for helping develop the series concept -- and they are especially grateful to Ross Zimmerman and Emily Nottingham for the honor of naming the Triple Crown series after their son, Gabe.

Beneficiaries

BEYOND Foundation is the primary beneficiary of the Triple Crown, while each race provides funds to local organizations, including the following:

Children’s Museum, Tucson

Cox Charities

Greater Tucson Leadership

Educational Enrichment Foundation

Team Hoyt

Southern Arizona Roadrunners

Contact

Call Race Director Randy Accetta 520-991-0733 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Race Fees

2020 Pricing

November 1, 2019 - January 31, 2020: $99

February 1 - April 30: $109

May 1- June 3: $119

Virtual Registrants:$120

If you cannot be in town during any of these races, you can be in the Virtual Crown and still get all your great race schwag! For those who live outside the general Tucson area, we will mail your race materials after the TMC Meet Me Downtown and again after the TMC Get Moving event. For those in town, we will bring the race goodies to The Running Shop and have them there for you to pick up for one month after each race.

All races will take place rain or shine.

There are no refunds or transfers.

Sadly, there is no "SAR" discount, as this is already a low price for the three races.

Race Distances and Courses

There are three different events. Each event has a 3.1 mile option—you can run or walk. Strollers and children are welcome in all the 5k’s.

Run the city and run the desert – or walk and have a great time!

Don’t want to run or walk? You can still complete the award by volunteering at the races.

Won't be in town for one of the races? No worries, you can do the Virtual option.

Location

Saturday night, June 6: TMC Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run/Walk, Tucson's largest running event. You can run or walk Tucson's most popular 3.1 mile event. The TMC 5k Night Run is part of SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix. Please note that the Friday Night Festival of Miles Now counts as part of the Triple Crown.

Sunday morning, September 20: TMC Tucson 10k. You can run the 10k or you can walk or run the 5k at Tucson's newest premier running event. Details soon . . .

Sunday morning, October 19 (TBD): TMC Get Moving Tucson Half-Marathon Events. You can walk or run the Tucson Lifestyle 5k, or you can run or walk the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon. The TMC Half-Marathon is part of SAR's Running Shop Grand Prix.